Germany’s group opponents Spain delivered a confident dress rehearsal for the World Cup and were able to rely on their young stars. The 2010 World Champion won on Thursday (November 17th, 2022) in Amman in a rather lackluster manner against Jordan 3: 1 (1: 0), Ansu Fati (13th), Gavi (56th) and Nico Williams (84th) scored the goals .
Fati (20) and Gavi (18) play for FC Barcelona, Williams (20) plays for Athletic Bilbao in La Liga. Hamza Al-Dardoor (90+2) scored for the hosts in added time.
Spain coach Luis Enrique had not yet sent his first eleven onto the pitch, he said before the game he wanted to give some players match practice. RB Leipzig’s Dani Olmo, the only Bundesliga professional in the Spanish squad, came on in the 58th minute.
Japan is defeated by Canada
Germany’s first group opponents Japan botched the World Cup dress rehearsal after conceding a last-minute goal. The team around Frankfurt’s Daichi Kamada lost 1: 2 (1: 1) in Dubai on Thursday (11/17/2022) against Canada, which is also at the start of the World Cup in Qatar.
Yuki Soma (9th minute) gave the Japanese, for whom Kamada was used almost 25 minutes, an early lead. Canada’s defense chief Steven Vitoria quickly equalized (21st). Lucas Cavallini (90 + 5 / penalty kick) provided the winning goal for the Canadians. Bayern’s Alphonso Davies, who was injured shortly before the World Cup break, was not used.
The Asians will be the opening opponents of the DFB team next Wednesday (2 p.m. / ARD). Coach Hajime Moriyasu had rested several injured players such as Stuttgart’s Wataru Endo, Hidemasa Morita and Kaoru Mitoma. Endo and Morita are expected as double sixes, and Kamada should also return to the starting eleven at the start of the World Cup.
The test included Gladbach’s Ko Itakura, who was missing for a long time with a knee injury. Itakura is an additional option for Japan’s defense alongside the established central defenders Maya Yoshida (Schalke) and Takehiro Tomiyasu (Arsenal).
Without Ronaldo: Portugal handles Nigeria
Even without superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal’s national football team presented itself in World Cup form on Thursday. Double goalscorer Bruno Fernandes led coach Fernando Santos’ team to a 4-0 (2-0) win against Nigeria in the friendly. A week before Portugal’s first game at the World Cup in Qatar, Ronaldo was absent with an upset stomach.
Fernandes, Ronaldo’s club-mate at Manchester United, scored after just nine minutes for the clearly superior hosts. In the first half he also converted a hand penalty (35th). Goncalo Ramos (82nd) and Joao Mario (84th) followed up later. In the meantime, former Cologne player Emmanuel Dennis missed a penalty kick for Nigeria (81st).
Switzerland loses with comeback summer
The Swiss national football team lost their final preparatory game for the World Cup in Qatar when goalkeeper Yann Sommer made a comeback. A week before the start of the tournament, the “Nati” lost 0:2 (0:0) in Abu Dhabi against World Cup participants Ghana. Goalscorers for the four-time African champions were Southampton’s Mohammed Salisu (70′) and Bristol City’s Antoine Semenyo in the 74th minute.
In Switzerland, Sommer from Borussia Mönchengladbach was 90 minutes between the posts. The custodian suffered an ankle injury on October 18 and has not played a game since.
“We played well for 60 minutes, after that the players felt a certain tiredness, the heat also played a role”said coach Murat Yakin, “We took the risk that the result might not live up to expectations. But the result doesn’t upset us.”
Both teams start the tournament on November 24th. Switzerland, who travel to Qatar with seven Bundesliga legionnaires, then meet Cameroon, other opponents in Group G are Brazil and Serbia. Ghana start against Portugal and also fight with Uruguay and South Korea to reach the round of 16 of Group H.
Coast Rica cancels game in Iraq
Due to complications when entering Iraq, Germany’s group opponents Costa Rica canceled their last friendly before the World Cup. This was announced by the country’s football association on Thursday (11/17/2022), according to the US broadcaster ESPN.
The game against Iraq planned for the evening does not take place because an agreement that was reached was not kept.
Passports should not be stamped
Accordingly, Costa Rica had asked not to stamp the passports upon entry. Apparently the border officials didn’t want to stick to that, so goalkeeper Keylor Navas’ team returned to their training camp in Kuwait.
Costa Rica wants to travel to Qatar on Friday, according to the information. The first group game will take place on November 23 against Spain. In Group E on December 1st, Costa Rica is the last preliminary round opponent for the German national team.